


Two Times It Went Terribly and Two Times It Didn't

by mothereffingparis



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2410682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothereffingparis/pseuds/mothereffingparis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The first time it he did it, Balthazar swore it would never happen again. It was right after he put An Ode to Pedro up on youtube; right after he put all of the sticky feelings and heartache out there for the whole world to see. Basically, the worst time ever to have a drunken hookup."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Times It Went Terribly and Two Times It Didn't

The first time it he did it, Balthazar swore it would never happen again. It was right after he put An Ode to Pedro up on youtube; right after he put all of the sticky feelings and heartache out there for the whole world to see. Basically, the worst time ever to have a drunken hookup. 

***

It was after a long, stressful week at school. Bea and Ben had been fighting more than usual and there was just an innate … awkwardness between everyone in their group of friends. Coupled with the fact that Balthazar’s parents were out of town for the weekend and he didn’t want to “do anything big,” Pedro came over for a guys’ night. Alcohol was meant to just be a social clutch – something to make the fact that they were hanging out alone, at night, on the couch, after he wrote Pedro a love song, bearable. 

“Hey … hey Balth.” Pedro said after several beers. The two were sitting in completely different positions on the couch as they watched Flight of the Concords. Balthazar, cross-legged and back straight, and Pedro with his legs sprawled and his back on the seat cushion. Both of them had beers in their hands and both of them were drunk. 

Balthazar looked over at Pedro and smirked. “Yeah?”

Pedro looked over at his friend with a curious expression and slowly started sitting up straight on the couch. He threw his arm over the side and looked and Balthazar headily, drunkenly, under his eyelashes. “Why … why did you write me that song?”

That was not the question Balthazar was expecting. He swallowed audibly and looked away. 

“’Cause I’ve been thinking.” Pedro said, running a hand through his unruly hair as he slid slightly closer on the couch. “It’s, like, kind of …” He trailed off and looked away. 

Balthazar couldn’t help himself. “Like what?” He whispered. Neither of them were paying attention to the television anymore, but it kept playing in the background. Little nonsense, quirky songs that seemed out of place considering how close Pedro was to realizing something this important.

“Like …” Pedro paused and looked down at his hands. He slipped one of them into the other and clasped them tight, all the while furrowing his brows like he was trying to understand something. “like ….”

Suddenly he looked up at Balthazar, who knew he must have an expression on his face keen to being a deer in the headlights. But there was nothing he could do. The way Pedro was looking at him made something twist uncomfortably in his stomach. 

All of a sudden, Pedro closed the gap between them. Before Balthazar could fully comprehend what was happening, Pedro’s lips were on his and his hand was grazing the side of Balthazar’s cheek. It was a hungry, sloppy kiss; it took several moments for Balthazar to even respond to it. They were both drunk – so so drunk, and despite the fact that Balthazar knew he would regret it in the morning, he never wanted it to end. He never wanted Pedro to stop kissing him. Never wanted Pedro to stop those little moans in his ear while Balthazar planted soft, wet kisses on his neck. 

But when it was over, it was over. They fell asleep in a tangle of limbs on the floor, a blanket draped over both of them. Thankfully for Balthazar, they were still clothed when he woke up with a start, but that was about the only good news. Pedro was already awake, staring at his living room ceiling, an arm draped carelessly over his forehead. 

“Whoa!” He said, jumping the minute he noticed Balthazar was awake. 

Balthazar cringed at the sound and sat up abruptly, before grabbing his head. “Ow.” He moaned. “Hangover of the century.” 

Pedro sat up as well, and scooted a little further away. He clutched his head as well. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

Then it was quiet in the room, save for the occasional woosh of the ceiling fan. Balthazar rubbed his elbow awkwardly and looked anywhere but at Pedro. 

Then Pedro started to speak: “Balth – I just wanna say-“

“Want some breakfast?” Balthazar said, standing up, adjusting his balance, and heading over to the kitchen isle. All the while not looking at Pedro. 

It took Pedro a second to respond. “Yeah, sure, okay.” 

They never talked about it. Never even vaguely mentioned it. There was little to no awkwardness that came out of it, and Balthazar thought he had evaded the repercussions forever. His friendship with Pedro was the most important thing; he didn’t want to screw that up over one dumb drunken night they both regretted. 100% regretted. Completely.

***

The second time it happened was a hundred times worse than the aftermath of the first. 

***

The two of them were completely sober, sitting near each other on Balthazar’s bed. Community or something was on telly, but as usual when Pedro was so close to him, Balthazar was having issues paying attention to anything other than his own breathing, Pedro’s breathing, and the few centimeters that stood between them. 

It wasn’t like he never thought about that kiss that happened a few weeks ago. Sometimes he would find himself staring a second too long at Pedro’s hands, imagining the way they once caressed his face like it was the most precious thing in the world. Other times, when he was sitting close enough to him, Balthazar could smell the musty smell that was just Pedro and he remembered how he couldn’t get that smell off of his clothes for days. Not that he wanted too. 

Balthazar was really trying to concentrate on the television this time when all of a sudden, Pedro did it again. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and muttered “fuck it” before grabbing the back of Balthazar’s head and kissing him harshly. 

This time, Balthazar responded back immediately, snaking an arm around Pedro’s neck and pulling him closer. The kiss was tougher this time than last; with Pedro biting hard on Balthazar’s lower lip and leaving hungry kisses along his chin. 

After a moment, Balthazar had a terrifying revelation and pushed Pedro away. Both of them were breathing heavy. Balthazar saw that Pedro’s hair was ruffled – did he do that? 

“Pedro.” Balthazar finally managed to say, after he slowed his breathing. “What was that?”

Pedro’s eyes flashed up to meet his, then immediately looked away. “It was … I dunno, Balth.” He sighed. “Just … you don’t need to make it into a huge deal. I’m just under so much pressure right now, everything with Hero … and Claudio … and her birthday coming up in a few days and having this huge secret I don’t know if it’s mine to tell and just …” Pedro slumped onto the bed and sighed again. “It seemed …” He looked around the room for a minute, trying to find the words, before he just said: “convenient.”

Something hard dropped in Balthazar’s stomach. He didn’t know if he could speak without laughing at himself for being so naïve or shouting at Pedro for being such a dick. He took a second to compose himself before he responded. 

When he finally had the courage to say something, he looked up and saw Pedro was steadily meeting his gaze. “Convenient.” Balthazar said it with the most malice he could muster, which granted wasn’t a lot. Pedro cringed anyway. “So, what you’re saying, is you’re using me?” 

“What?” Pedro sat up straight, eyes wide. “No! Never! I just thought … ya know … it would be a good time. Stress reliever. For both of us.”

“That’s not …” Balthazar sighed deeply and looked at his lap. Tears were threatening to come out and he couldn’t let them. It was just Pedro being stupid and unobservant. Again. Why did he always have to fall for the dumb guys? “You know – you knew – that I … liked you. Ever since you kissed me last time. Ever since I wrote that song.” His voice was shaking slightly, but he knew he had to keep going.

Balthazar looked up and saw Pedro was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, which just made Balthazar more frustrated. “You knew!” He said, forcefully, almost yelling. “You knew and you’re taking advantage of me and can’t you see … how it’s not fair?” Balthazar stood up off the bed and dusted himself off. 

It was a moment before Pedro spoke. He had his hands clasped, all of his weight on his elbows perched on his knees. “Balthazar … I’m sorry.” He finally said, looking at the floor. “I didn’t-“

“I think you should leave.” Balthazar said quietly. 

Pedro half-chuckled. He still didn’t understand, and it was really starting to get on Balthazar’s nerves.

Pedro started: “Bro-“

“Just … go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Pedro got up awkwardly and walked to the bedroom door. He paused and started to say “Balth”, before he shook his head and quietly walked out. Balthazar stood rooted in the spot. A minute later, Balthazar heard the front door close, and he let out a deep sigh. 

Boys were going to be the death of him. 

***

The third time it happened was under considerably happier circumstances. 

***

Balthazar rolled over in bed, picked up his phone and saw that he had a text from Pedro: “Hey Balth. Can I come over? I need to talk to you.” He rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and read the text again. Yep, Pedro wanted to talk to him. 

After weeks of mutual not talking, or awkward talking, or plain avoiding – especially after the incident at Hero’s party – Pedro had texted him. Thankfully, everything was kind of worked itself out on the Hero front. The group got together for a major friendship-rebuilding session last Saturday, which mostly resulted in Claudio working up to a much-needed apology to Hero. Balthazar couldn’t help but feel relieved that the drama-filled saga was in the past. Well, most of the drama anyway. Over the past week, Bea and Hero had learned to forgive Pedro and even Claudio for the role they played in John’s plot. Or at least, mostly forgive them. Everyone was on speaking terms again. Ursula had even arranged for another picnic party a few weeks from then and it seemed like everyone was excited to go together. 

The only thing that still hadn’t resolved itself was the Balthazar and Pedro of it all. Which was especially weird, because they were the only two who noticed something awkward was going on. 

So when Balthazar woke up to a text from Pedro a week after everyone “became friends” again, he was reasonably confused. He thought about how to respond for a good minute before he replied: “Sure.”

A minute later, he heard the doorbell. Thinking it couldn’t possibly be Pedro already, Balthazar shrugged on some jeans he saw lying on the floor over his boxers, pulled on a tshirt, and put on some deodorant. Then he took his time brushing his teeth, washing his face, and doing his hair. His mom would get the door – it was probably someone to see her anyway. 

Mid tooth-brushing, Balthazar received another text from Pedro: “Let me innnnn.” He quickly spat out his toothpaste and rushed to the door, not even putting on shoes.  
Balthazar opened the door to see Pedro lounging casually on the side of Balthazar’s house, staring intensely at his phone. He was wearing normal Pedro clothes – a tshirt, jeans, and a flannel top – but for some reason the sight of him still made Balthazar’s heart beat a tad faster.

“Hey.” Balthazar said, stepping onto the small front porch and closing the door behind him.

Pedro looked up, surprised, and quickly hid his phone into his back pocket with a “Whoa!” and a nervous laugh. “How’ve you been, Balth?”

“Good.” Balthazar nodded, trying to get rid of the feeling that this was going to be the most uncomfortable conversation of his life. “How ‘bout yourself?”

Pedro laughed cynically and ran a hand through his hair. “Not great, not great.” He turned to face Balthazar. “But you probably know that.”

Balthazar shrugged and smiled a small smile in recognition. 

“Ehh!” Pedro nudged him with his elbow. “It’s okay – go ahead and laugh at how dumb Claudio and I were. Because we were-“ he paused for emphasis, raising his eyebrows, “so dumb.”

Balthazar couldn’t help it, he half chuckled at that. “Not to mention just generally dickish.” He added in a quip.

Pedro laughed harshly and nodded his head. “Yeah … yep yep that too. Massively dickish.”

“Hey – at least you can laugh about it.”

“Laugh about how dumb we were? Yeah, sure. Take it as one of my best character traits. That I can laugh at myself.”

Balthazar nodded and chuckled. Then he sat down on the stoop and patted the space beside him. 

“Want to sit down?” He asked, looking up at Pedro.

“You don’t want to talk inside or-“ Pedro looked nervous all of a sudden. 

“It’s just the porch.” Balthazar responded. After a moment, Pedro joined him. Then it was quiet for a moment. “You said you wanted to talk to me?” Balthazar said after a while of silence. 

Pedro gulped. “Er, yeah. I do.” He paused again, before continuing on in a small voice that seemed more directed at himself more than anything. “I do.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, so Balthazar pushed him again. “What is it?” Balthazar nudged Pedro playfully. This was the first time they’d hung out together – just the two of them – since the last time Pedro kissed him. All of a sudden that thought came back to Balthazar and he swallowed. 

“I … I need to say something.” Pedro said, more confidently this time. “If I don’t say it now, I’m just gonna chicken out and then I’ll never be able to admit it and I’ll live out the rest of my days an old, sad man who didn’t get to tell my best friend that …” he paused and looked away. 

Balthazar didn’t dare say anything this time. Besides, he was too distracted by the fact that Pedro had called him his best friend. Maybe that meant there wasn’t so much rebuilding they had to do. Maybe that meant that he was still the most important person in Pedro’s life. Maybe that meant-

“I kissed you because I like you.” Pedro said suddenly. Balthazar’s eyes grew wide. “There, I said it. I don’t know if that makes me gay or bi or whatever. All I know is … its true. That time I was over here and we were sober and hanging out watching – what was it? Parks and Rec? 30 Rock?”

“Community, I think.” Balthazar said in a soft voice. He couldn’t believe his ears. Pedro liked him? 

Pedro looked over his shoulder like he hadn’t even realized Balthazar was there. He paused, looking at Balthazar for a second before he continued. Balthazar just stared straight ahead of himself, turned away from Pedro, face emotionless. 

Pedro coughed lightly into his hand. “Okay, Community. We were watching Community and all I could think about was how close you were sitting to me and that … that one time we hooked up a few weeks earlier. And how I’d never admit how much I actually enjoyed it.” Pedro paused here and chuckled before continuing. “I guess I just thought … I needed to be sure, ya know? That sounds ridiculously dumb, but that’s the truth. Like – before I made any decisions about my sexuality or told you how I thought I felt, I should try it again sober to see if I felt anything. I’m not gonna lie – it was pretty selfish and … well, as you put it “dickish” of me. If anything, I was hoping that kissing you sober would make me realize that I didn’t like you. That I was still the completely straight football captain that everyone knew and loved. But the minute you started kissing me back … I … I was a goner. And I still didn’t want to admit it to myself. God, I’m such a dumbass.”

“You said it, not me.” Balthazar smirked. Yeah, “dumbass” fit Pedro pretty well.

Balthazar was quiet for a moment, just staring ahead at his empty, suburban street. How long had they been out there? How long had Pedro been talking? Minutes? Hours? Days? 

It was Pedro that spoke first, breaking the serene early morning silence. “You okay with … this? I know it’s a lot. You probably don’t feel the same way after all the shit I put you guys through. Especially Hero. I just … I needed to say it. You can understand that, right?” 

After a moment, Pedro sighed and squeezed Balthazar’s shoulder. Balth whirled around and looked at Pedro, full on, for the first time since he started the conversation. 

Balthazar noticed he looked anxious – more nervous than Balthazar had ever seen him. There were bags under his eyes and even his hair looked a little more unkempt than usual. But underneath all of that was an earnestness in his expression that Balthazar really missed. It was what was missing when Pedro apologized at Hero’s “funeral” the other day. It was everything. 

Without really thinking about it, Balthazar leaned forward slowly – painfully slowly – and pressed a soft kiss on Pedro’s lips. Electricity, fireworks, chemistry – after all of the weeks of not talking or seeing each other, they still had that spark. He smiled quietly against Pedro’s lips. When Balthazar pulled away, he had a look at Pedro’s expression – something in between bemused and … what was that expression? 

After a moment Pedro finally opened his eyes. He licked his lips and smiled. “Mind if we try that again. I wasn’t really ready.” He said with a characteristic smirk. 

Balthazar just chuckled and leaned over to kiss him again, this time for a little longer. Balthazar bunched the collar of Pedro’s flannel to get him as close as possible. It wasn’t like either of the other kisses the two of them had experienced together. It wasn’t sloppy and drunk, or rough and quick; it was slow and savoring. Pedro ran a hand into Balthazar’s hair and ran light fingers across his cheek that made Balthazar’s shiver. 

After what felt like eternity, they broke apart, breathing heavily.

“That was…” Balthazar was at a loss for words.

“Pretty damn good.” Pedro laughed. 

Balthazar smiled and grabbed Pedro’s hand, linking their fingers together and squeezing tight. 

“It was fine.” He shrugged. “Pretty obvious you don’t have much experience kissing boys though.” Balthazar laughed at Pedro’s affronted expression. “We’re not breakable” he tried to explain, “you don’t have to coddle us like-“ he demonstrated the way Pedro at one point had tried to balance Balthazar’s chin on his finger on Pedro himself, until they both broke away laughing. 

There was a lot of laughing after that - and also a lot of kissing - before Balthazar decided that they should probably move the show inside, to which Pedro happily agreed. 

***

The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh times were happier kisses as well. But it wasn’t until a few kisses after that – maybe the fortieth, but Balthazar stopped counting after a while – that they kissed in front of their friends. It was all Ben’s fault. 

***

Everyone in the group was sitting on a picnic blanket, throwing food and insults at whomever seemed like the best target. After a while, Benedick mentioned how strange Pedro had been acting for the past week. 

“You know what you should do – straighten you right up.” Benedick asked him, raising a deft eyebrow before he side-eyed Beatrice. “Get a girlfriend. It’ll cheer you up. It also makes life way less complicated. Need a buddy to go see the new Marvel movie with – bam, a ‘date.’ Want someone to listen to you whine all day – that’s basically in their job description. But watch out – women whine more than any- OW!” Beatrice slapped his arm.

“You were actually going somewhere good there for a second.” She said, scowling. Then she chuckled and kissed his cheek in an apology. 

Balthazar looked at Pedro nervously out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t care if people knew they were dating. It wasn’t exactly a secret to anyone that he was gay. The only reason they hadn’t told their friends yet was because neither Balthazar nor Pedro knew how they would react to Pedro’s coming out party. 

In any case, the way Ben had framed it, Balthazar thought Pedro had two real options: admit he was dating Balthazar or laugh it off and continue pretending he was straight. Balthazar was hedging his bets on the latter. 

“Actually.” Pedro cleared his throat. “I’m not in the market for a girlfriend right now.” He said it so nonchalantly, in between bites of crisps, that everyone in the group who wasn’t paying attention before immediately turned their heads to look at Pedro.

“OOOH.” A whole group of them said in unison. Balthazar furrowed his eyebrows at them, trying not to laugh. 

Pedro met his eye and winked. 

“Do tell.” Ben said, laying on his stomach with his chin perched on his palms. 

“I never kiss and tell.” 

“This time you have to.” Ben continued.

Pedro laughed. “Why?” 

“Because whoever she is …” Ben paused to nudge Pedro, who just rolled his eyes, “is important enough for Pedro Donaldson to consider the monogamous lifestyle.”

Bea raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure that’s so unheard of, BeneDICK.” She emphasized the last syllable of his name, as she did whenever she was cross with him. Ben quickly grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. 

“I just wanna know who the girl is.” Ben said, looking around the group for supportive faces. Balthazar intentionally looked away. “You can write it down if you want – I know it’s kind of awkward to say in front of everyone so-“

“Alright, alright!” Pedro finally said, waving his hand in front of himself to push Ben away. “It’s not a question of who she is but who he is. And who he is-“ Pedro paused for a second, before making eye contact with Balthazar, who after a moment of hesitation, nodded slightly, “is Balthazar.”

Everyone whipped their heads around to look at Balthazar, who waved awkwardly. 

“Hey … guys.” He said, trying not to laugh. Pedro was smiling widely. 

It was Meg who came to her senses first. “That’s … unexpected. But super cute. I can see it. No, I totally dig.” She nodded and smiled. 

Hero was next: “How long have you both-“

“Been dating?” Pedro asked. “About a week?” He looked over for confirmation from Balthazar, who nodded. 

“You want proof?” Pedro asked, smirking. He crawled across the blanket and planted a soft kiss on Balthazar’s lips. Their friends, particularly Meg, gave loud whooping sounds. 

After Pedro made it back to his original seat, he fist bumped Ben. Bea rolled her eyes at her dumb boyfriend but squeed when she made eye contact with Balthazar. 

Hero tried again: “No, I mean … how long have you and him been a … thing that happens.”

“What?” Pedro asked.

“She means,” said Meg again, “how long have you been hooking up.”

“That” said Balthazar, sharing a quick smile with Pedro across the blanket, “is a long story.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I haven't written fic in ... years. Seriously, years. And it was Harry Potter fic. So I have no idea how good this is. But it's essentially my headcanon of pedrazar, so I hope y'all like it. :)


End file.
